Australia's high-profile cricket Test series in India will begin as scheduled in Bangalore in October, even though a tennis tournament was called off there over security fears, officials said Wednesday.

"There is no change in the itinerary. Bangalore will host the first Test," said Indian cricket board secretary Niranjan Shah.

India's four-match series against world champions Australia opens in Bangalore from October 9-13. The remaining Tests will be played in Mohali, New Delhi and Nagpur.

A string of bomb blasts last month in Bangalore, the country's high-tech hub in the south, left one person dead and a dozen injured.

Australia last week joined a boycott of next month's Champions Trophy tournament in Pakistan due to security concerns, forcing the International Cricket Council to put off the eight-nation tournament till 2009.

The ATP confirmed in a statement issued Wednesday that the tournament, due to begin on September 29, had been cancelled.

"The ATP board can confirm that it has regrettably accepted a petition from the Bangalore Open to suspend the 2008 event due to the local promoter's security concerns," the statement said.

"The total event prize money of 400,000 dollars will now be paid into the ATP player pension fund."

Local media reports speculated that tennis organisers had cited security fears because they had failed to attract top players for the event.

India's only other ATP event, the Chennai Open in January, attracts star players like world number one Rafael Nadal, who use it to prepare for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam event of the season.

West Indian captain Chris Gayle Wednesday said Australia's Test series defeat in India could be a turning point in international cricket that will make the game better.
India beat Australia 2-0 in the four-match series, raising hopes that a team other than Australia could become world champions in the future.

Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting Tuesday said his team had to put their loss to India behind them as quickly as possible, as he defended his captaincy during the series.
Australia's 2-0 loss to India has raised concerns that the world champions' dominance of the game is fading, particularly after the retirement of the likes of Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist.

Batsman Sourav Ganguly ended his illustrious international career here on Monday on a contented note, saying he saw a bright future for Indian cricket.
The 36-year-old former captain, who had already announced he would quit after the Australia series, will always be known for transforming India into a formidable unit at home as well as away, backing youngsters and defying odds.

Former cricket greats and the media on Tuesday celebrated India's Test series win over Australia, saying Mahendra Dhoni's team had changed the world order.
Newspapers echoed US president-elect Barack Obama's clarion call of "Yes we can" after India won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Nagpur on Monday following a 172-run triumph in the final Test.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting on Monday defended his controversial decision to use part-time bowlers at a crucial stage in the fourth and final Test against India here.
He was criticised for pressing part-timers Michael Hussey and Michael Clarke into the attack in a bid to make up for a slow over-rate on Sunday when India were struggling to set a stiff fourth-innings target.